Washington: Pakistan is unlikely to take
strong military action against the terrorists as desired by
the Obama administration because it is not willing to forego
the option of using extremists as "tools" against India after
the US leaves the region, a prominent thinktank said on Saturday.
"The issue is not just one of capability. It is also
about intent and Islamabad’s strategic imperatives," said
Stratfor in its latest news analysis of the region.
The Obama administration is pressing the Pakistan Army to
take strong military action against the terrorists.
"The Pakistanis realise that the United States and its
Western allies aren’t looking at a long-term military
commitment to Afghanistan. Therefore, from Islamabad’s point
of view, it makes no sense to go after those militants
fighting in Afghanistan," it said.
"Doing so would not only exacerbate the insurgency within
its own borders in the short term, it would also create a much
larger cross-border mess for Islamabad to deal with long after
Western forces leave the region," Stratfor said.
"Furthermore, Taliban fighting in Afghanistan are tools
Pakistan can use to roll back Indian influence in Afghanistan,
which has increased significantly in the last eight years.
Therefore, it is highly unlikely that Pakistan will
undertake the kind of action that the United States wants,
because it would be tantamount to national suicide," it said.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, January 23, 2010, 23:21